At the church of Christ, we are beginning a series of sermons on the subject of “Remembering the Words of Christ on the Cross”. It is important for us to keep the words of Christ in our memory. Without His words we are as a blind one trying to follow an unfamiliar path without any aid. Jeremiah said, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” (Jer 10:23 ) Only through His word can we know where to walk. David says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Ps 119:105)

The disciples, after the death of their master, were in deep despair and grief. They had thought of Jesus as the promised Messiah that would usher in the glorious and everlasting Kingdom of God. They thought that by this horrific death of the cross the hopes of Him being the Messiah were crushed. How could a dead man, one that was overtaken by others and crucified, be the Messiah? They thought that they made a mistake. They had forgotten the words of Christ. They had forgotten and didn’t understand the true plan of God.

The kingdom of God was never intended to be an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom. Jesus told the Pharisees, when they were demanding to see this kingdom, that Jesus preached, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21 ) That is to say that the kingdom will not be able to be measured with the instruments of survey. It is a spiritual kingdom. It is a kingdom that lives within its citizens.

Jesus also told Pilate this fact when He stood accused. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36 )

The disciples forgot this fact and they were in deep grief because of it. Then we read in Luke chapter 24 how that the disciples went to the tomb and found that it was empty. They were perplexed by this, but the two angels of God explained things to them and reminded them of the words of Christ. The angels quoted Jesus and said, “The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” (Luke 24:7 ) The next verse is the ‘turn around’ verse. With so few words, this verse says much. It says, “And they remembered his words.” (Luke 24:8 )

What a blessing is the memory of the words of Christ. Instead of having a crucified master, they had a risen Christ! Their grief and despair turned into joy and hope!

The words of Christ will have the same effect on any one that remembers them. Paul tells us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Col 3:16 ) The words of Christ can cause our grief and despair to turn into joy and hope as it did the disciples of long ago.

There were seven sayings that Christ spoke while He was enduring the cross. They are not found in just one gospel but they are found in all four. Over the next few weeks, if the Lord is willing, I intend to go over each of these sayings in hopes to build our memories of them. If you are so inclined, you can also listen to the sermons on our website at www.panachurch.com. May we always remember the words of the Son of God, and grow by them.

If you have not remembered the words of Jesus and would like to know more about the saviour of the world, you can contact us at the church of Christ. We are always happy to help!